J. Gregory Sidak, Daniel F. Spulber

This 1998 book addresses deregulatory policies that threaten to
reduce or destroy the value of private property in network
industries without any accompanying payment of just compensation,
policies that are termed 'deregulatory takings'. The authors
further consider the problem of renegotiation of the regulatory
contract, which changes the terms and conditions of operation of
utility companies. They argue that constitutional protections of
private property from takings, as well as efficient remedies for
contractual breach, provide the proper foundation for the
competitive transformation of the network industries. The benefits
of competition do not stem from government regulations that
redistribute income from utility investors to customers, nor do
such benefits stem from regulatory policies for network access that
promote free riding on incumbent facilities by entrants. Such
actions represent a new version of increased regulation, not
deregulation.